Which meat is best?

There's a lot of confusion surrounding hormones in meat. David Goding caught up with dietician Gabrielle Maston to separate fact from fiction, and help us make the healthiest choice in the supermarket.

Earlier this year, Coles' ‘no added hormones’ campaign came to loggerheads with the Australian red meat industry, who claimed that it misled the public into thinking that hormones in meat were undesirable and unhealthy.

According to Meat and Livestock Australia, hormone growth promotants (HGPs) have been used by the Australian beef industry for over 30 years and around 40 per cent of Australian cattle are raised using HGPs. The Australian Department of Health and Ageing found that there was unlikely to be any appreciable health risk associated with consuming HGPs, but Coles stood their ground.

So if hormones are not an issue, what should we be looking for in the meat cabinet?

Accredited dietician Gabrielle Maston recommends lean cuts of meat, which contain two to five grams of fat per 100g. Mince is normally higher. “In general, mince is very high in fat due to the fact that fat is needed to help grind the meat,” she says. “Woolworths Heart Smart minced meat is generally the best choice or getting your butcher to mince a cut of meat for you with instruction to remove the fat trimmings. On average, a lean mince would have around 6.8g/100g. A better choice would be to use kangaroo mince with only 1.3g/100g.”